New Zealand Rugby has granted conditional approval for two Pacific Island teams to join an Australia-New Zealand Super Rugby tournament beginning next year.
Moana Pasifika, a team of players of Samoan and Tongan heritage, would likely be based in South Auckland, while the Fiji Drua would be based in Suva, the Fiji capital.
They would join New Zealand’s five teams and Australia’s five teams in the proposed tournament next year.
New Zealand Rugby in November last year confirmed the teams as its preferred Pacific partners, subject to their meeting certain financial criteria.
A cash injection of about US$5 million over three years by World Rugby helped to ensure the inclusion of Pacific teams in Super Rugby for the first time.
New Zealand Rugby would still require the teams to produce business plans showing that they are financially and commercially sustainable, and that they can be competitive on the field.
Rugby Australia has also yet to signal its approval.
The announcement was made at a news conference yesterday by New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson, Moana Pasifika representatives, and former All Blacks Michael Jones and Bryan Williams.
“We are finalizing business plans as we’ve said already,” Robinson said. “We are conditional on that and obviously our friends at Rugby Australia — we have ongoing dialogue there that we will continue to participate in. It’s very constructive at the moment. We’re on the frontier of something extremely exciting for our competitions.”
Williams, who is of Samoan and Tongan heritage, was one of the first Pacific Island players to play for the All Blacks and later became president of New Zealand Rugby. Jones played one match for Samoa before transferring his allegiance to New Zealand, for whom he played 55 Tests. Both are former Samoa coaches.
Williams and Jones have long campaigned for a Pacific team in Super Rugby and could not contain their excitement at yesterday’s announcement.
“It probably should have happened 25 years ago,” Williams said. “But World Rugby needed to look after its own affairs and aspirations, and as a result, we got left out in the cold. It was hugely disappointing at the time, but here we are.”
Fiji, Samoa and Tonga hope the Pacific teams would lure home players signed to teams in Britain, Europe and Japan, but it seems unlikely that the Super Rugby teams could match the salaries paid to top Pacific players overseas.
Jones said that the inclusion of Pacific teams in Super Rugby would be received with excitement by Pacific communities.
“It will bring a lot of joy, a lot of hope and I think a sense of belief that something that has been a long-held dream and aspiration ... we’re on the cusp of that coming to fruition,” he said. “Pacific people love rugby. It’s part of their culture and who they are, and part of the fabric of their society.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two